Knights and Ladies
by Nessy
Summary: Sorry, but we want you to be surprised.


DO NOT SEND TO GOSSAMER, WE ALREADY DID!!

Disclaimer: Do we really need one? Everyone knows they don't  
belong to us. C'mon, let us have some fun with 'em! ;)  
Please don't sue us!  
Title: (K)nights and Ladies  
Authors: Nessy & Cirglas  
Classification: Hey we're very romantic persons. So what do  
you think will be in it? MSR? You got it! That makes it: S,R  
(and another St- for 'Strange'. ;D)  
Rating: PG  
Feedback: or Spoilers: none/nada/keine/n'y pas. Did I make myself clear?  
Keywords: Mulder/Scully Romance  
Summary: Sorry, but we want you to be surprised. (You'll  
be!)  
Post: Wherever you want. But the STORY belongs to US!

Hey, we're back! This time the story's a little different  
from the usual ones. Please don't take it too seriously. It's  
not meant too seriously, anyway. But we had fun with it, and  
maybe, if you simply let yourself enjoy it, you'll have fun  
with it to.

Special thanx to Muuh for helping with the plot (We ARE a  
crazy bunch of girls). And a special thank you to everyone  
who has written to us because of our other two stories, "The  
Kiss - A Valentine Story" and "Morning, Mulder!". They are  
all independent from each other, but we'd be thrilled if  
you'd read them, too. ;)

Hey! Told ya, next time we'd be shorter! smile...

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**(K)nights and Ladies**

by Nessy & Cirglas

Lady Scully was so bored. Her brothers were stalking some  
farmer's girls, her sister was long married and she was  
reaaaalllllllyyy bored... castles were boring, no doubt. But  
there had to be something to do. She did the only thing she  
could think of, something she did every time when it rained:  
She strolled through the castle and looked into every room,  
every closet and cabinet, everywhere where she suspected an  
interesting discovery. But since it rained quite often in  
good old England, in her 19 years on earth she had already  
discovered everything that was to be discovered.  
Disappointed, she went back into her room.

She sat down on her freshly made bed, picked up the book she  
had just gotten for a belated birthday present a month ago  
and started reading it. She guessed she was lucky her father  
had let her learn how to read -- although he hadn't had much  
of a choice when she had come to her 'Daddy' with one of her  
brothers' books and had demanded to know what that word meant  
-- and she was glad that she had had all sorts of other  
privileges many of her girlfriends would never have.

Not only did she learn early on how to ride horse back - not  
the lady-saddle way, but the real stuff, just like the boys -  
but also did she learn how to fight. And she had to say that  
brothers were quite good to practice with. A smile almost  
broke across her face when she remembered the fist time she  
had won with a sword over her older brother William. He had  
been shocked and really embarrassed. And she hadn't won over  
him many times after that, but every once in a while she  
would. And that made her proud.

She put the book back down on the night stand because she  
knew that she couldn't concentrate on it anyway. Instead she  
sat down in front of the mirror and took the brush into her  
hand and started brushing her hair. She would have loved to  
cut her hair to chin length but her father had turned a deep  
shade of purple and had had one of his famous raging fits at  
that idea about five years ago. He had screamed at her if she  
had lost her common sense and how he was supposed to get her  
married when she looked like a boy. She had just thought it  
would have been a little more practical while fighting and  
would even be nice not to look like all the other women in  
the castle.

So now she was combing through her mane and trying to get it  
back into a long French Braid. It had fallen apart on her  
wanderings through the castle. She actually liked the fact  
that her hair was red. It made her a little more uncommon.  
Otherwise she was the perfect lady: fair, almost white skin,  
intelligent blue eyes, maybe a little small in stature, but  
the curves in the right places. All in all Lady Scully was  
quite happy with herself.

She didn't think she was ready to marry just yet. But her  
father seemed to be of a different opinion. They had argued  
about it just a fortnight ago (again). He had tried to make  
her see that she was in the perfect age to marry and that she  
would have to start looking soon because she wouldn't stay  
young forever. She had to admit that she had never really  
given much thought to marriage and family. She wanted them -  
sometime later. But not now. It just wouldn't feel right to  
marry now. She shrugged. After all she hadn't fallen in love  
yet.

She snapped out of her reverie as she heard trumpets announce  
the arrival of another knight. A knight who would fight for  
her sometime during the next week. Oh! The thought of it  
made her so mad. Her father had won the argument and decided  
a competition would sort out some possible husbands for her.  
The knights coming here thought they were going to fight only  
for honor and a small sum of money to cover their expenses  
for the journey here. But the truth was that her father,  
mother and brothers would decide upon a husband for her among  
those knights.

That was the only thing she was glad about. Her father hadn't  
set her up like old fish on a fish market. He had decided to  
search the masses masked. And she had to be thankful for  
that. And that way -- even though her father didn't know it  
yet -- she planned to have some say in the thing, too. She  
knew with a few well-brought-in comments she could convince  
him to one thing or the other--hopefully. She knew he loved  
her and just tried to solve everything for the best for  
everyone and wouldn't make her marry someone she absolutely  
rejected.

Lady Scully decided to go out on her balcony to see the new  
knight. She got up from the chair, collected all her skirts  
and walked over to the balcony. Thankfully it had stopped  
raining and although it was wet outside she wasn't getting  
wet. She leaned on the rail and craned her neck to get a  
glimpse at the newest candidate.

But she could only see the back of his horse and his page.  
And she thought she might have seen his armor reflecting the  
light of a torch. It was getting dark outside. She hadn't  
even noticed that, indeed, she had killed another day. /Oh,  
well, You'll see this guy soon enough.../ she thought and  
went back inside.

The next morning there was nothing seen other than sunshine  
and blue sky. The rain and the clouds had simply vanished.  
/Impossible English weather., Lady Scully thought as she  
galloped through the woods. Her horse needed a break soon --  
she knew that -- and so she steered it towards a small lake  
she knew was just on the other side of this little hill.

When they arrived there she hopped down and tied her  
'Camelot' to a tree right next to the water so he could drink  
as much as he wanted. She flopped down onto the grass a few  
feet away from the water where there was a sunny spot on the  
grass. She was glad she still fit into those old clothes a  
maid had given her a few years ago. She sure couldn't have  
sat on the grass with one of her expensive dresses on.

She was glad she had decided to come out here after all. As  
she had thought about the horrible next days and then seen  
the gorgeous weather outside, she had decided to enjoy her  
freedom and come out here into the woods -- away from the  
castle and all the people there.

She looked around her and took a deep and cleansing breath.  
This place was just plain beautiful. A weeping willow was  
bowing over the water. The branches almost touching the  
surface of it. A few years ago she would have climbed up and  
sat on the almost horizontal tree trunk while her brothers  
and sister were jumping around in the water. But she had been  
content to sit right above them in her hideaway and let her  
thoughts wander off.

She had not always been such a quiet child. That had only  
come after going through puberty. Before that she was wilder  
than both her brothers together. She always had to compete  
with them in everything.  
But since she had been about 14 or 15 she had kept more and  
more to herself. Oh, she still fought with her brothers and  
occasionally won, but she didn't have many friends she would  
talk. She wouldn't say what bothered her or if she wasn't  
feeling well. When her family asked what was wrong, she only  
replied that she was 'fine' and that was usually the end of  
it.

When someone asked her what she thought about she simply  
stated that she had a lot to think about. Nobody knew that  
she thought about how she really wanted her life to be. She  
hated to be treated like a princess - well, if she were her  
cousin she'd be one -- like she couldn't take care of  
herself. From that age on she gradually dismissed one maid  
after another. She needed to prove to herself that she could  
clothe, bathe, take care of herself. She had tried the path  
of arguing before but had realized that as a woman and  
daughter she didn't have the least of a chance.

Over the years she had become quite independent -- and quiet  
too. She sat there now in the sunshine on her knees, dress  
spread around her, picking daisies and weaving a garland out  
of them, all the while humming a lullaby to herself -- just  
like everyone would expect of her. But in her head she  
pictured her life without the proverbial cotton around her.  
And, of course, -- thanks to her father's reminding of it --  
the right man beside her.

What she didn't know was that she was being watched. A pair  
of hazel/green eyes looked upon her from a few feet away. And  
what a pretty sight she was! Although she had on only a  
brownish, old, ragged dress, she was radiant. Her hair  
burning like fire while her creamy skin was a great contrast  
to it. The observer was completely mesmerized by her beauty.

Scully - all the while completely oblivious to her company -  
had gotten up and was walking over to the lake. Once there  
she kneeled down, formed a cup with her hands, dipped them  
into the clear water, and brought them back to her mouth to  
take a sip of the cool and certainly refreshing liquid.

But before she could even feel a droplet of it against her  
lips she heard a 'snap' behind her and almost fell into the  
water by surprise, but two strong arms encircled her waist  
and held her back. She was just too shocked to really react.  
The arms pulled her into an upright position and turned her  
around.

She was desperate to know who had surprised her that much  
that he had to rescue her. But to see his face she had to  
look up... and up... and UP! And she couldn't see his face  
even then because the sun was blinding her and she had to  
squint to at least see the silhouette of his face. Wow! She  
knew she was small, but she had never seen anybody that was  
that tall as the man standing right in front of her. He was  
just simply looking down at her. /That's not fair! He's not  
blinded by the sun. He can memorize your face while you don't  
even know what he looks like./

She raised a hand to block out the sun and now finally had a  
small chance of studying his features. Oh, he was handsome.  
Drop-dead-gorgeous to be exact. His face was relaxed, almost  
friendly, a characteristic nose. His eyes were a unusual  
shade of green which she had never seen before.

/If we don't stop this staring-at-each-other soon, I'll get a  
stiff neck./ was the next thought that floated through her  
mind when after a few more seconds they still hadn't moved or  
said anything to alter their situation. As if he had read her  
thoughts he stepped back a little and the corners of his lips  
curled up to form an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, didn't want to scare you." His voice brought her back  
to the present, and she decided that she liked this handsome  
young man and that she wanted to find out who he was. So she  
smiled brightly at him and replied:

"Oh, M´Lord, that's okay. Nothing happened." Since she didn't  
know who he was and she did wear the clothes of her maid,  
she thought that that form of address was all right.

He nodded at her reply and wasn't at all surprised by the way  
she had addressed him. She filed that information under  
'might come in handy'. But his next comment made her very  
angry.

"What is a girl like you doing out here all alone? Woods can  
be quite dangerous." He saw that it was a mistake as soon as  
he saw her face fall. She grimaced, turned and then stepped  
away from him. He took the time to mentally kick himself. How  
come he always said the wrong thing? He had just wanted to  
find out something about this lovely girl but his question  
seemed to have dispersed the spell that they had been under  
before.

With her back still to him she stated: "I'm fine, M´Lord,  
don't worry about me. I can take care of myself." The words  
sounded as if rehearsed or at least used quite often. He was  
afraid he had driven her away. He had to apologize. He wanted  
to spend some more time with this beautiful stranger. And he  
wouldn't let himself be dismissed just like that.

He walked over to her where she stood looking across the lake  
and touched a hand to her shoulder. "I'm sorry. Did I say  
something wrong?" He desperately needed to know that she  
wasn't mad at him. A small part that wasn't concerned with  
the question if he had hurt her feelings, wondered why she  
was so important to him after only such a short time.

She shrugged - he didn't know whether that was a gesture to  
tell him she didn't want to answer or to get rid of his hand.  
But he left his hand where it was. Somehow he knew she was a  
person who would say out loud if something bothered her. But  
he was sure about one thing: She did know the answer. They  
stayed like that a while, neither one moving but connected by  
his hand.

Scully knew she wouldn't get rid of him, that he wouldn't  
leave it at that. She collected herself and turned around to  
face him and tell him how mad she was that he had implied  
that she couldn't watch out for herself. But as soon as she  
saw his face her anger dissolved into nothing. His concerned  
eyes were watching her every move, while his face showed a  
look she had only seen on puppies when they had been wounded.

She felt sorry about being so moody. He was only concerned  
for her safety. /And/ she thought with a wry smile /You know  
you can take care of yourself, but he doesn't know that --  
yet./

"No, M´Lord, I'm sorry for behaving that way. I should not  
bother you with my problems. Forgive me, it's nothing you  
did." She hoped he would be satisfied with that as an answer.  
Not waiting for him to say anything she walked over to  
Camelot and untied the knot holding him to the weeping  
willow. When she was about to mount the horse, his voice  
startled her.

"Um, I'm looking for the Earl of York's castle. It must be  
somewhere around here. Can you tell me how to get there? It's  
the first time I´ve come through these woods."  
She contemplated saying she didn't know where the castle was  
but after a few seconds she realized that he probably was  
another knight wanting to participate in the competition.  
/Oh, great. You'll see him at home. And you will have to face  
him. And he doesn't even know that your father invited him.  
Might as well bring him there and tell him that you are the  
earl's daughter./  
/But first I want to find out some more things about him. And  
for that it's best he doesn't know who I am./

"Yeah, sure, I can even take you there. That's where I'm  
headed anyway."  
"Great. Oh, is it far to walk? My horse is kind of tired  
already and I don't want to tire him more than I have to."  
"No, It's only three quarters of an hour and a nice walk. I'm  
not in a hurry." Finally she turned around to face him again  
and to her surprise the stranger was grinning broadly at her.  
"What?"  
"Who are you?"  
"Why are you asking?"  
"Uh, just you don't talk the way you dress."  
/He is suspicious. And I wanted to learn more about him  
before I told him. Well, I don't have to tell him anything I  
don't want to, right?/

"I'll tell you if you tell me." Was the only thing she said.  
While he led them to a tree to which he had tied his horse.  
"Deal. But you start."  
"How about taking turns?"  
"Whatever." He was untying his beautiful brown horse and then  
they both resumed walking through the trees back towards the  
path, the horses' reins in their hands.  
/Okay, here goes./  
"Um, well, my name is Dana and I work at the castle." Well,  
sort of.  
"Call me Mulder. And I'm here to fight for my honor at the  
games." They started walking back to the castle following the  
path. The two humans next to each other on the inside, the  
horses on the outside.

/So I was right. Funny, he doesn't seem like someone who  
wants to fight. He seems almost ... tame...intense but tame./

"Mulder? What's that? First or last name?"  
"The only one I have. But it's your turn to reveal some  
information.".  
"Well, I'm 19 years old" She was getting into dangerous  
territory. /Too much information!/ She didn't really want to  
lie to him but if he kept asking it would come right down to  
that.  
"I'm 23"  
"I have two brothers and a sister. My older sister is  
married, my older and younger brother are still 'looking'  
they say."  
"I have a sister that's about your age. She is engaged and  
will be marrying in summer. How about you? You already found  
the right person in your life?"

/Cutting right down to the problem, are we./ "Um, no, not  
yet. But my father wants me to marry soon."  
"Even though you haven't fallen in love yet?"  
/How does he do that?/ "Well, he says he will have to find a  
husband for me if don't. He says I'm not getting any  
younger." /Why am I telling him all of this?/

"And there's really nobody you could spend the rest of your  
life with?"  
/Why is he sounding so happy about that?/ "Well, I haven't  
found him yet. You're not offering yourself to me, are you?"  
She smiled to let him know she was actually joking.  
"And what if I were?"

She felt herself blush at that idea. /What if he were? Would  
that bother you?/ That made her blush even more. "Well, we'll  
probably never find out, right?", she told him and walked a  
little faster so that he was unable to see her red face.

After a short silence he asked her: "So, what is your work at  
the castle?"  
She contemplated what to answer before she said: "I am the  
earl's daughter's maid."  
"And she let you have a free day today?"  
"Sort of."  
"I guess I will meet her when I'm in the castle. What is she  
like? Anything you want to warn me about?" At the last  
question he cracked a smile in her direction.

"OK. I'll let you know what I think of her: She's about as  
small as I am, but strong willed and she can be quite  
stubborn at times." She smiled. "She knows how to fight with  
a sword so watch out. But she doesn't have many friends. Oh,  
don't get me wrong. Most people like her. But she has no  
close friends."

"Nobody she can talk to? Well, I know that problem - better  
than I would have liked to."  
A pause. /I need to find out more about him./  
"What brought you here from..."  
"The other side of England" he readily supplied.  
"From the other side of England just to fight in some kind of  
competition practically without any prize?"  
"Well, let's just say I needed a break from my family."

She smiled knowingly at him and continued their conversation.  
"Well, this is a nice area for a vacation and to tell you the  
truth you already saw the prettiest spot in this area - the  
place at the lake side. Just don't get too banged up while  
fighting. You wouldn't be able to enjoy your stay."

"I'll try. Will you wish me luck?" Somehow that fact was very  
important to him. Actually she became more and more  
important to him... But he didn't really want to think about  
what that meant. She nodded and smiled a bright smile that  
made him wonder if she knew something he didn't know.

"Maybe I'll even make it to the games. That is if you want me  
to watch?" She looked over at him almost shyly and he  
couldn't help but smile at her expression. She hadn't seemed  
that shy before.

"Sure, I'd love that." And after a short pause he continued:  
"Would you mind if I wore something of yours to bring me good  
luck?"

She started to blush again. "Well, I wouldn't mind at all,  
but I don't have anything with me...oh, wait a second..."  
She stopped walking, but didn't quite know what she should do  
with the reins of her horse and after a little looking around  
to see if she were being watched, she simply put them between  
her teeth. That elicited a chuckle out of her companion.

She peeled the garland off of her head, turned it around,  
carefully looking for the prettiest flower in it. When she  
finally found it she removed it from the garland which she  
placed on top of her red hair again. Then, with the flower in  
one and the reins back in the other hand went over to the man  
she only knew as 'Mulder'.

She looked up at his still smiling face and handed him the  
reins and then told him with as much sincerity as he had ever  
heard: "Mulder, Milord, I'd be honored if you'd wear this  
flower during the games. It shall watch over you and bring  
you luck."

"You know what? I have just the right place for that." He  
gave her the reins of both horses and instead took the  
flower. He reached underneath his shirt and pulled out a  
blue-colored sack. He opened it and she saw that there was a  
bow in it already. She was shocked. She hadn't thought about  
it but it only made sense that he might be engaged already.  
/The good ones are always taken!/

As he saw her face he explained quickly. "My sister had had  
that bow all her life. When I left from home three days ago  
she took it out of her hair and gave it to me to bring me  
luck. Almost like you did just a few minutes ago." He smiled  
at her. "Thanks to her I didn't get lost on my way here. And  
thanks to you I will be lucky at the games."

Time flies. Lady Scully and her companion Mulder realized  
that with great disappointment. The castle that they had  
noticed coming nearer and nearer was now right in front of  
them. Luckily the drawbridge down, they went into the  
courtyard. She led him to the stables, told him where to  
leave his horse and then disappeared for a few minutes, in  
order to free herself of hers without him watching in witch  
'noble' box she put her horse.

Many of the people they passed bowed their heads. First Lady  
Scully hadn't realized it, but when she turned to Mulder to  
ask him which earldom he came from she noticed his bewildered  
expression and questioning look in her direction.  
Remembering he still thought she was a simple maid she gave  
the only explanation she could think of. She shrugged, gave  
him an affectionate smile and said "Must me your noble  
appearance." That earned her a doubtful frown but then a  
smile for her compliment.

"So, Dana, where do I have to go to let them know I'll fight  
in the games?"

"Oh, just follow me. I'll bring you there."

They walked past the market, past the cathedral and the  
graveyard and went into a small hut at the corner of the  
courtyard. Scully waited at the door while Mulder went to  
stand in line with the other knights.

After about half an hour he came back to the door and told  
her he would stay in the west wing in the room called  
'Copernicus'. She offered to bring him there and they started  
their comfortable pace again. On the way to his room, Scully  
had the chance to make up for the embarrassing bows before.

Her sister Melissa, visiting for the event, met them in the  
staircase. So Scully, taking her chance, made a curtsy while  
Mulder bowed before this royal Lady. Lady Melissa was  
surprised -- to say the least --but knew her sister to do  
some strange things. So she did what she always did: played  
along.

As soon as Melissa was around the corner, they resumed  
walking and he asked who that had been. "She's the sister of  
my Lady." Was her answer. When they arrived at his room they  
bid their 'Good-byes' and she performed another curtsy and  
then walked off with the words "I'd better get going, my Lady  
can be very strict at times." His reply followed her down the  
hall: "Well, I'm not really good at defeating dragons, but  
with you as a damsel in distress..."

She was still chuckling when she reached her room. To her  
surprise she wasn't the only one in her room. Melissa was  
there already.  
"Okay, Dana, who was that handsome guy you talked to? And  
forget the idea of not telling me. 'Cause if you don't,  
father will be quite interested in what you're wearing when  
you go out alone."  
"Oh, Melissa, you wouldn't, would you?"  
"I don't know, depends on how good your story is. You know,  
I'm kinda bored here alone while my husband is out hunting  
with our brothers."

A big smile spread over Scully's face. "Well, I found him in  
the woods and he just followed me home." The sisters  
dissolved into giggling fits.  
"Oh, Dana, come on. Tell me!"  
"I swear! It's the truth!"  
Melissa made herself comfortable on Dana's bed next to her  
sister. "Okay tell me everything you know about him."  
And while Dana did so, she noticed that she knew almost  
nothing at all.

She didn't have a chance to see Mulder the next day. Nor the  
one after that. But on the day of the games she met him in  
the courtyard. She was dressed in a dress of hers but it  
wasn't a very fancy one. So he wasn't too surprised by her  
appearance. He wasn't dressed in his armor yet either. He  
smiled when he recognized her. She returned his smile and the  
lingering gaze afterwards. Now they were standing in front of  
each other and staring into each other's eyes -- again.

/This is becoming a habit./ Scully thought. /A nice one  
though. He has such interesting eyes./  
He broke the silence first. "Well, hello there." And after a  
pause "I missed you. I kept looking for you but I didn't see  
you." She felt herself blush. She suddenly found the ants on  
the ground to be very interesting.

/What is happening? I feel strange when I'm near him. And I  
could swear there are butterflies in my stomach./ She found  
her voice again and said. "Well, I was rather busy." She  
still wouldn't look up at him but added quietly "Missed you  
too." He put a finger under her chin and lifted it so his  
gaze could meet hers. His beautiful eyes were boring into  
her. His voice sounded strange when he asked her "Will you be  
at the games?"

"Yes, I will be there." Her voice sounded strange to her.  
/Funny./ "I wish you luck, Mulder." And as an afterthought  
and even quieter "Don't get hurt."  
He smiled at her and said: "Yes, Ma'am."

She nodded in acceptance at his promise. She looked around to  
find out if anybody was watching them and then took hold of  
his shoulders and pulled him down towards her while she stood  
on tippy-toes. She leaned into him and gave him a quick kiss  
on his left cheek and then hurried on in the direction she  
had been going. Before he had the chance to turn or say  
something, she was gone, out of his sight.

A few hours later Scully sat next to her relatives on the  
grandstand trying to decide which knight should win. Well,  
actually she had already made her choice. The problem was  
that she didn't know what his armor looked like. And she  
didn't want him to get hurt. So the only solution seemed to  
be that she wished that nobody should get hurt.

But by the time the two best knights fought against each  
other, she thought she might know which armor Mulder was in.  
The games weren't really fair and everybody wanted to win and  
so everybody cheated. Well, not everybody. There was one  
knight who seemed to fight thoroughly fair. And Scully  
thought that it fit to her Mulder to fight fair, even if  
everybody else wasn't. /My Mulder?/

And he made it to the final round staying fair. She was so  
proud of him. He had foreseen every unfair action and had  
reacted to it immediately so that he had won the fights. But  
it happened in the final round. He was great. He had cornered  
his enemy into the far corner of the battlefield. Her  
schooled eye had seen it. He had had a few opportunities to  
overpower his enemy.

But in those cases it would have most likely resulted in  
killing the other. She saw him hesitate a few times and then  
realized he wouldn't kill if he didn't have to. One time he  
hesitated just a few seconds too long. That was the reason he  
lost. His enemy's sword struck him at the side of his neck.  
Everyone stood up to applaud the winner of the tournament but  
she rose to her feet in shock and concern for her friend.

She left her sister to hand the prize to the winner - she  
knew that wasn't Mulder, since the winner had taken off his  
helmet to greet the earl like he was supposed to - and went  
in search for - her imagination had created it that way - her  
Mulder dying because of his fatal wounds.

She searched the tents and finally found him leaning against  
the wall of a house. He had taken off his helmet, too, and  
was now trying to catch his breath. She ran over to him. As  
he noticed her he straightened and tried to seem unhurt, but  
he winced in pain as the collar of his armor rubbed against  
his neck.

"Don't move!" She told him and was already pulling him into  
his tent. She sat him down on a chair. She stood in front of  
him and turned his head to get a look at his neck.  
He tried to push her away. "It doesn't hurt that much. Just  
leave it alone."

/Oh no, sorry, buddy, you can't get rid of me that easily./  
"Stop it. I don't want to hear a word." She helped him out of  
the armor and then took another look at the cut. "Stop  
squirming. Hold still for a second. I'll be right back." She  
knew she was ordering him around but she really didn't have  
the time to argue with him.

She went out of the tent. When she came back she had all  
sorts of unrecognizable things in her hands. She went back to  
stand beside him, cleaned his wound and then bandaged it. She  
did it with so much efficiency that he just had to comment on  
it. Her answer surprised him a little. "Well, I've always had  
this talent. And I got practice by patching my brothers back  
up after beating them up, so that our parents wouldn't find  
out."

He smiled at her, but she continued: "I didn't think I would  
have to use my talent on you. You had promised me not to get  
hurt." She looked at him with so much anguish in her eyes  
that he felt guilty for bringing that pained expression upon  
her face.

He looked at her and said as sincerely as he could. "I'm  
sorry, Dana, I'm really sorry. But you know, I tried."  
She looked up from her hands working at his neck. When she  
met his eyes her anger dissolved. She just couldn't be mad at  
that wounded-puppy-dog-look. "Yeah, I know you tried. But you  
really scared me out there." She motioned with her head to  
the battlefield.

"I'm sorry." He couldn't think of anything else to say. 'I'll  
never do it again' certainly wouldn't fit the situation. But  
he wanted to reassure her. But then he thought of something.  
"Well, I'm glad your here to care for me. And I'll try and be  
more careful next time." That evoked a sad smile out of her.

"Well, I hope so. Because I won't be there next time to  
patch you up. You'll be back on 'the other side of England.'"  
Mulder had to catch his breath. She was right! He would  
probably never see his Dana again after this. Well, he had to  
do something about that. Luckily he knew now that she was the  
Earl's daughter, so that left him some possibilities.

When she was finished bandaging his neck and had made sure he  
had everything he needed, she turned to leave. But he took  
her hand and pulled her down. He looked her deep in the eyes  
and said in a low voice, "Thank you, Dana. For everything."  
Then he moved their hands so that he could kiss hers. Scully  
had to smile at him in spite of her sad mood. She said  
"You're quite welcome." and gave him a final smile and his  
hand a final squeeze before she turned and left.

Scully arrived in the throne room to find her complete family  
gathered there. Her father turned around and demanded to know  
where she had been. Scully looked over to her sister. Melissa  
shook her head. No, she hadn't said anything. Scully said  
calmly but with a sarcastic undertone: "I thought you wanted  
me to find a husband, father. Well, I was looking."

"Well, my dear, there is no need now anymore. Your brothers  
and I have chosen a knight for you. He is the son of a very  
rich and powerful lord. You are very lucky. He even proposed  
already." By now Scully was practically boiling.

"How dare you?! How dare you all choose a husband for me?!  
Don't you think I should at least have some say in the  
decision?! Just because I maybe have to spend the rest of my  
life with him?! Huh?!" She was shouting now. Her mother,  
sister and younger brother were wincing at her loud voice  
while both 'William's in her family seemed to be the same  
opinion. That they were right.

Her father broke the silence. "Don't you talk to me that way,  
young lady, you have no right to doubt my decisions. You will  
marry Thomas of Colton. He will take good care of you. End of  
discussion."  
"Thank you for your trust in me, father, but I can make my  
own decisions and I CAN TAKE CARE OF MYSELF!! And I  
don't want to marry that Thomas. He is arrogant, selfish,  
mean, snobbish and all kinds of other things I don't want to  
name.  
"That's enough now! You are going to your room now. And I  
never want you to contradict my decisions ever again. Go to  
your room! NOW!" Scully turned on her heels and left the  
room.

As soon as the large door closed behind her - of course very  
loudly, to make sure everyone knew the mood she was in - her  
family breathed a shared sigh of relief. Melissa said: "Well,  
that went quite well, don't you think?" The rest of the  
family looked at her quite strangely. But before anybody  
could say anything else, there was a knock on the door and a  
servant proclaimed that one of the knights was asking for an  
audience with the earl.

And who entered the throne room? No other than the man  
Scully's sister knew as 'Mulder' from what Dana had confided  
in her earlier. Now she had some more time to look at this  
man her sister was so fond of. She had to admit: Her sister  
had good taste.

Mulder crossed the room to stand in front of the throne. He  
bowed the usual way and then came right to the point:  
"Sire. I ask you for your daughter to join me in the holy  
band of matrimony. Please, Sire, grant me this honor."

The earl, just about too start roaring what has possessed  
this little nobody to ask for his daughter's hand, noticed a  
warm hand on his forearm. He leaned down toward his wife and  
listened to her whisperings:

"William. Before you say anything, ask him where he comes  
from. He seems familiar to me."

He had no chance other than to do as his wife wished:  
"Who are you? And where are you from?"  
Mulder answered:  
"My name is Lord Fox of Mulder. I come from Oxford and my  
father is Earl William of Cotswold Hills."

Scully's family was shocked. Most of all her Father. Just a  
few minutes earlier, he had almost told this visitor to go to  
hell, but thankfully his dear Margaret had saved him from  
making such a mistake. Cotswold Hills? That earldom was very  
big, rich and powerful. Hmmm. Would actually be quite a good  
idea to marry his Dana to him. So he decided to accept the  
proposal.

"Well, I'd be honored if you took my beautiful daughter as  
your wife. Oh. I have to say you are quite a good fighter.  
Second best isn't bad at all. But I ask you to excuse us now.  
We have some matters to discuss."

Mulder left the room. The earl breathed out a relieved sigh  
and turned to the rest of his family. "What do you all  
think?"

His son William was the first to answer: "You won't let her  
marry this guy, will you? He doesn't have the best  
reputation. I've heard, he and his father had arguments about  
how to handle servants. He thinks they need to be treated  
like normal people." A huff of air left his lungs as he  
thought about that ridiculous idea.

Scully's younger brother said: "What he does or not does to  
his servants isn't what we are deciding about. He seems to be  
a good catch for her and he wants to marry her. Sounds fine  
with me. ... Um, but I don't want to be the one to tell her  
about her new fiance." You could see the fear in his eyes. He  
had seen her in her raging mood too often for his liking. He  
shuddered. "No, somebody else will have to tell her."

Earl William looked over to his wife and daughter. He could  
see they approved of his decision. Melissa even had a smug  
grin on her face. He wondered why, but didn't want to get  
into this now.

"Well then, I guess I'll go and tell her that she is engaged.  
As for you, please get everything settled for the  
announcement of the engagement by the end of this day."  
With those words he left to find his daughter.

Mulder - or should I say the lord? - moved through the  
hallways of the castle. His pace had a skip to it and  
everybody could see that he was the happiest man on earth.  
Why shouldn't he? He was about to visit his beautiful bride  
and declare his undying love to her. He wanted to know how  
she thought about his idea of marriage. Although it surely  
wasn't custom, he thought it was an event where the bride had  
some say in the matter, too.

So there he was, closing the distance to the girl he loved  
from the moment he saw her. And he didn't think she would  
find the idea of marrying him to be too repellent. They had  
seemed to get along quite well on their walk to the castle  
and ever since that encounter in the courtyard right before  
the games, he thought she might feel like he did.

But when he rounded the last corner he heard shouting. A very  
angry and disappointed female voice. Then a male voice  
yelling. The female voice even louder. "OH, NO, I WON'T!!"  
As he came closer he recognized it to be Dana. Then the male  
voice trying to sound reasonable but you could hear the  
undercurrent of anger in it.

Then the door opened with so much force that it banged  
against the wall. Out came the red-faced earl stomping  
towards him. When the earl saw him the face softened a little  
and he said in the general direction of the room, "Well,  
Dana, here is someone to see you. Be nice to him."

When they were closer to each other William whispered to  
Mulder "You try and deal with her, my son. All yours." Mulder  
looked from the earl to the room and back to the earl with a  
puzzled expression then turned towards the door. But just as  
he stepped over the threshold he saw something being hurled  
in his direction. He was barely able to duck and something  
hit the wall just above his head with a loud crash.

He looked down behind him to see something that once must  
have been a flower vase. He wondered what had made her so  
upset. He heard a gasp from across the room and turned his  
head to face her. Her eyes were wide with shock and her mouth  
open and moving, but she didn't seem to get any words out.  
Suddenly she flew into his arms and drew him into a fierce  
hug.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She pulled away from him just  
enough to check that he was all right. She took his face into  
her hands and turned it to each side. "Did I hurt you? Oh,  
I'm really sorry." She took hold of his left arm and pulled  
him towards the bed, turned him around and pushed him down  
onto it.

"Here. Sit down a minute. You sure I didn't hit you?" She was  
really concerned about him. It made him smile.  
"I'm okay, don't worry. But would you at least tell me why  
you thought I needed a new hair cut?"  
She hugged him close again and said into his ear: "I thought  
you were some idiot I am supposed to marry. I'm sorry, I  
didn't think you would come and visit me."

He had to laugh. She pulled away from him and frowned at him,  
then she raised her right eyebrow and asked, "What?"  
He smoothed two fingers over her eyebrow and she relaxed and  
it sank back down. They held each others' gaze a moment and  
then he said with a very calm voice: "But I am that idiot  
you are supposed to marry." He smiled at her sheepishly. "I  
thought you might want to."

She stared at him in total disbelief again for the second  
time in less than five minutes. When she got over the initial  
shock she shoved him hard so that he fell down onto his back  
on the bed. She got up and took a few steps away. "You are  
telling me," She took a deep breath. She didn't want to loose  
control in front of him. But she felt it slipping and instead  
the anger flooding through her veins again. And it wanted to  
be directed at Mulder sitting upright once again, "that you  
are the Lord of Cotswold Hills? And why, Milord, didn't  
you tell me?"

He smiled at her, got up and crossed over to her. "Well,  
Milady, you didn't tell me much about yourself, either. I  
guess were even now." He took her by the shoulders and  
searched her eyes with his. "Dana, I want you to know--"

He was interrupted by the earls' voice. "Well, it looks like  
the problems are all solved. I ask you to come to the balcony  
with me now, so that we can declare your engagement to the  
earldom."  
Mulder looked at Scully and she shrugged at him but smiled a  
small smile. As she passed by him on her way out she gave his  
arm a gentle squeeze.

Her father held the speech. He talked and talked and talked.  
She was standing next to Mulder right behind her parents. She  
looked up at him. And caught him watching her. He smiled and  
shrugged. He took her small hand in his and leaned close to  
her. He leaned so close to her head that as he whispered his  
lips came in contact with her ear.

"Dana. I want you to know that I'm glad you will marry me. I  
couldn't get you out of my head from the first time we met.  
Not that I wanted to." He moved his head a little so that his  
gaze could meet hers. "I want you to know that I love you.  
Forever."

She could feel her insides melting at his words. He loved  
her. She couldn't believe it. Well, actually, she could.  
Because everything in his actions had said so. Right from the  
beginning. She didn't know what to say, so she pulled his  
face down into a kiss.

Scully woke with a start. Sitting up straighter in the  
passenger car seat she tried to shake off the last of her  
dream and at the same time get that nasty crick out of her  
neck. She took in the darkness outside of the car and the  
music playing softly from the radio. She looked over at  
Mulder behind the steering wheel.

He was illuminated by the front lights of the passing cars  
and she marveled at the fact that this particular light  
brought out the handsome features of her partner while he  
concentrated on the road. As he glanced over to her, his  
attention turned to her because of her movements, they shared  
a quick smile.

After turning his attention back to the road but still with a  
smile he said: "Well, hello, Sleeping Beauty. Have a nice  
dream?"

She looked out of the window to hide the blush creeping over  
her face. She nodded because she knew he would see it out of  
the corner of his eye and smiled a dreamy but hoping smile.  
/Someday, Mulder. Maybe not now, but someday./

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The End

And they lived happily ever after ;)

So? What do you think? Surprised? At least something  
different, right?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I dreamt that suitors sought my hand,  
that knights upon bended knee  
and with vows no maiden's heart could withstand,  
they pledged their faith to me.  
And I dreamt that one of that noble host  
came forth my hand to claim.  
But I also dreamt which charmed me most  
that you loved me still the same.

----- Enya, Marble Halls


End file.
